Freezer cabinet with externally accessible machinery compartment



MOORE FREEZER CABINET WITH EXTERNALLY ACCESSIBLE May 1, 1956 R MACHINERYCOMPARTMENT 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 5, 1952 five/17 0f Robe/*7 6.Moore y 1 1956 R. E. MOORE 2,743,981

FREEZER CABINET WITH EXTERNALLY ACCESSIBLE MACHINERY COMPARTMENT FiledNov. 5, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 m ezfor 3066/76. Moore United StatesPatent 0 FREEZER' CABINET WITH EXTERNALLY. ACCES- SIBLE MACHINERYCOMPAR'IMEN T Robert-E.' Moore, Amana, Iowa, assignor"to-Amana*Refrigeration, Inc., Amana, Iowa, at corporation-oiIowaApplication November 5, 1952,- SerialNm 318,809

5 Claims. (Cl.- 312'214) This invention relates to a cabinet. for. afreezer of.

the. chest-type witha top. opening.

Such,chests have long;been-constructedw-ith anlouter casing, comprisingfront, side, and back walls; anda-bot-- tom,.and an inner liningtherefor, providing an interior:

space for the storage of articles of food. The spacebe: n

In some freezers of the chest-type, the freezer machine.

unit,- comprising compressor, pump, etc., has been-hung on the back ofthe chest: The disadvantagesofv this-construction are obvious, in thatthe chest-cannot .beplaced directly againsta wall.

It.has also been the practice. in a. freezer. of: this.v

type, to provide a compartment or. spacev adjacent the bottom of the.chest, for. the. freezer machinery unit. This space has commonly beenprovided in-/chest-. typefreezersby having an oif-setinthepbottom'of theouter casing, the ofi-setextendingqto-a, height greater. than-thatof thefreezer unit. From this upwardly,- extendingportion, the bottom extendshorizontally,- over the machinery unit space to a side wall... Thesinner-liner is offset likewise to accommodate the structure of theouter casing and. thus provides-asha-llow interior space in the cabinetdirectly above the machine compartment.

Since it is necessary-that"!the'aouteri casing be sealed topreventmoisture, etc. from reaching, the thermal-.in: sulationmaterial,it has been common-practice to weld the top of'the machinecompartmentrtoa side wallland the. fronLwalL. This results in unsightlyweld-Ispptston. the outer casing, and "it is necessary that they befinished off by expensive finishing operations, or covered by expensivetrim or bars, or other decoration. It has also been common practice toprovide a removable panel in a side wall adjacent the machinecompartment, to afford access to the freezer unit. This opening in theside wall greatly weakens the chest construction at or near the pointwhere the outer casing must support the heavy freezer unit. In this typeof construction, the side walls adjacent the machinery space, andextending below the horizontal portion of the offset in the bottom, mustcarry the entire weight of the heavy freezer machinery.

A principal object of the present invention is to overcome thesedeficiencies and limitations in cabinet structure by providing a cabinetin which it is unnecessary to weld the outer casing to the side wallabove the ma chinery space, and unnecessary to have a removable panel inthe side wall for access to the freezer unit.

A further object of my invention is to provide a cabinet in which thefreezer unit is strongly and firmly held in the base of the outercasing. This is accomplished with a maximum economy of material, andwithout attaching the machine compartment top to the outer casing at apoint where the welding thereof will disfigure the front or sides of thecabinet.

My'present. invention contemplates a-cabi-net in which the machinery;compartment, comprising side walls; and. atop, is positioned in thebottom of. the outer casing; butispaced'from theside walls of thecabinet, .thusaifOrda ing, continuous, uninterrupted front and.sidewalls,. and: greatly improving the appearance. and stylingvof'the:cabi'-.- net,. and. providing strength where the. freezing; unit.is.- supported. My invention further aifordsacabinet in: which'themachinery compartment isalway s easilya'accesesible, and yet has noremovable panels-in thecabinet sidewalls; is mounted on a base whichisslid into position. within: this 1 machine compartment on channelguides, and thus canrbe conveniently and easily removed-for.-inspection; or. servicing My invention is capable of being utilized invarious: forms andwith various modifications; A preferrcdternbodiment isshown in the-2 drawing, in which:

Figure 1. showsa rear perspective view of a-chest-typ e.

freezer cabinet embodying my; invention.

Figure 2v shows. a fragmental rear. elevationalivie-w of. themachine'compartment in v which the freezer. machine unit: is. housed.

Figure 3 is a detail sectional'view takenon thezplane' of-the line 3-3of Figure:v 5.,- showing 0116"Ofth t6h2.fll1lr membersintowhich thebaserof: the freezer-machine unit is'.-slid, to positionv the unit.within: thehousing;

Figure 4' is; an exploded; perspectiveyiew of; theparts; comprising themachine compartment; sh'owing-.;the:said.-i walls-andtop thereofand thechannel members support-.- ing the freezer machine unit.

Figu-re:5 is a sectional view of .a cabinetembodying III invention,the.view being taken'on -.the plane ofi;the-line 5-.5. of Fig. 2, andshowing; the machinercompartment...

Referring indetailito the-.drawing,;,in Fig.=. l, the chest, indicatedgenerally'by; the numeral .10, has-anouterrcasing comprising; a rear.wall 11; side-walls: 12, .afrontawalhli'afi (see;Fig 5.),HDdrElrbOttOIl-l 14.- A- CO'VQI'i'iSshillgedltO; back wall. 11,toprovide a: top. openingfor.- the chest... Within "the outer. casing;there-.is disposed'anuinnert liner" 1.4a". spaced from the. outercasing.;and providing an;in-.. terior -space wit-hin:the-freezer. for;the-storage:-ofiarticles; of.food.-.. Therspace between-thesinnerlinerzandouter; casing is filled with .a;thermal insulationrnaterialsto. facili.-; tate the maintenance of the.:desired ftemperature within-.-. the; interior. of; the cabinet...

The side Walls 12 and the front wall 13 of the outer casing arecontinuous and uninterrupted. The bottom of the outer casing is providedwith an opening 15 extending from the back edge of the bottom. Theopening is spaced from the side edges and front edge of the bottom, andis of suificient size to accommodate the freezer machinery base 16 (seeFig. l), and the channel supports 17 and 18.

The back wall of the outer casing of the cabinet has an opening 19 whichat the bottom edge of the back wall is coextensive with the opening 15in the bottom of the outer casing. The opening 19 is of sufiicient sizeto permit the freezer machine unit to be moved through it into positionin the cabinet.

The vertical panel member 20 is secured along the edge of the opening 15and provides vertical side walls and the front wall of the machinecompartment. A cover 21 is fixed over the panel member 20 to provide atop for the machine compartment. The freezer machinery unit, indicatedgenerally by the numeral 22 (see Fig. 5), is positioned within thecompartment afforded by the vertical panel member 20 and the top 21.

With the channel members 17 and 18 positioned on the side edges of theopening 15 in the outer casing bottom, the freezer unit 22, fixed on itsbase 16, may be readily In. the structure herein disclosed, the freezer.

slid into position along the channel members. The stops 23 on thechannel members prevent any over-riding when the unit base is slidbetween the channel members.

It will be observed that the herein disclosed structure affords achest-type freezer cabinet structure in which the bottom of the outercasing contains no ofl-set which is welded to the front and a side wallof the outer casing. The result is that the front and side walls of thecabinet are continuous and uninterrupted, and do not bear anydisfiguring weld marks which must be covered by expensive trim ordecoration, or removed by expensive finishing operations. The machinecompartment is readily accessible in the cabinet structure embodying myinvention, and yet the opening affording access is on the back of thecabinet where it is out of view when the cabinet is placed in positionfor use.

The top of the machine compartment may be made from the portion of thebottom cut out to form the opening 15, thus, accomplishing a substantialsaving of material.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a top-opening, chest-type freezer cabinet, an outer casing and aninner liner therefor providing interior space within said cabinet, saidouter casing comprising a front wall, a back wall, side walls, and abottom, said bottom having an opening therein defined by edges spacedfrom the said front and side walls and extending to said back wall, ahousing covering said opening and providing space for a freezermachinery unit, said housing having front and side vertical walls, saidback wall having an opening therein adjacent to and affording access tosaid housing, and means securing the vertical walls of said housing tosaid edges and said back wall exclusively whereby the sole support forsaid housing is derived from said bottom and back cabinet walls.

2. In a top-opening, chest-type freezer cabinet, an outer casing andinner casing providing interior space within said cabinet, said outercasing comprising a front wall, a back wall, side walls, and a bottom,said bottom having an opening defined by edges spaced from the saidfront and side walls and extending to the said back wall, said back wallhaving an opening forming an extension of said opening in the bottom, ahousing covering said openings and affording space for a freezer unit,said housing having front and side vertical walls and a top wall, andmeans securing the vertical walls of said housing to said edges and saidback wall exclusively whereby the sole support for said housing isderived from said bottom and back cabinet walls.

3. In a chest-type freezer cabinet, an outer casing and an inner linertherefor providing interior space within said cabinet, said outer casingcomprising a front wall, a back wall, side walls, and a bottom, saidbottom having an opening therein defined by front and side edges spacedfrom said front and side walls and extending to the back edge of saidbottom, an upwardly turned flange fixedly secured to each of said edges,said back wall having an opening adjacent said bottom opening, andchannel members rigidly secured to said upturned flanges and openingtoward said rear wall opening to support refrigeration machinery forsliding movement into and out of said opening.

4. In a cabinet, an outer casing and an inner liner therefor providinginterior space within said cabinet, said outer casing comprising a frontwall, a back wall, side walls, and a bottom, said bottom having anopening therein defined by edges spaced from the said front and sidewalls and extending to said back wall, said edges having upwardly turnedflanges fixedly secured thereto and extending around said opening exceptat the said back wall, an opening in said back wall adjacent said bottomopening, channel members rigidly secured to said upturned flanges andopening toward said back wall opening to support refrigeration machineryfor sliding movement into and out of said back wall opening, and ahousing having the supporting walls thereof secured to said flanges andsaid back wall whereby said upturned flanges and said back wall providethe sole support for a housing positioned above said opening in saidbottom and said apparatus is covered when positioned in said opening.

5. In a top-opening, chest-type freezer cabinet, an outer casing and aninner liner therefore providing interior space within said cabinet, saidouter casing comprising continuous, uninterrupted front and side walls,a back wall and a bottom, an edge defining an opening in said bottom, avertical panel member secured along and to said edge, said panel memberbeing spaced from said .front and said side walls and secured to saidback wall, I and a top covering said panel member, thereby affordingspace within said panel member for housing a freezer machinery unitwhich space is independent of said front and said side walls.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,957,407 Finley May 1, 1934 2,392,727 Dailey Jan. 8, 1946 2,462,115Luecke Feb. 22, 1949 2,622,753 Philipp Dec. 23, 1952

